After 19 years, Tom Cruise's first major franchise is still one of Hollywood's best.

As Ethan Hunt, the star turned himself into an action hero with 1996's "Mission: Impossible" -- going Full Cruise with all the running, punching and jumping onto a bullet train from (naturally) an exploding helicopter. The first film was a huge hit, spawning five sequels -- all from different directors, as the series aims to give each "Mission" its own unique fingerprint.

Cruise is back for the latest installment, "Rogue Nation." Before you see the movie this Friday, your mission -- should you choose to accept it -- is to check out these 27 facts about the "Mission" films.

1. Before locking down Brian De Palma to direct, the first filmmaker Cruise approached about "Mission" was Sydney Pollack, whom he had worked with previously on Paramount's 1993 summer hit, "The Firm."

If you're one of those frustrated over the quality of many of the blockbusters that make it to the inside of a multiplex, then ponder the following. For each of these were supposed to be major projects, that for one reason or another, stalled on their way to the big screen. Some still may make it. But for many others, the journey is over. Here are the big blockbusters that never were...

1. Airframe

The late Michael Crichton scored another residential on the bestseller list with his impressive thriller, Airframe. It was published in 1996, just after films of Crichton works such as Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Disclosure and the immortal Congo had proven to be hits of various sizes.

They may be best known today for their later roles, but these six stars all got their first break by playing super heroes on TV. Maybe these shows aren’t the most memorable or well-made super hero projects, and they aren’t the highlight of the actor’s career, but these little shows jump-started the careers of some future celebrities.

Started out as—Kato, the Kung-Fu fighting sidekick to the Green Hornet in the TV series The Green Hornet (1966).

After that—Lee had a recurring role in the detective series Longstreet before returning to Hong Kong to star in a highly successful trio of films; The Big Boss (1971); the Chinese Connection (1972) and the Way of the Dragon (1972). His first and only Hollywood film was Enter the Dragon (1973). Lee died young and his legend has grown ever since. He is considered by many as the greatest martial arts star in the history of film.
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With Liam Neeson still – forgive the pun – going great guns with the action portion of his career, other older blokes are looking to muscle in. We reported back in 2012 that Nicolas Cage was all set to make I Am Wrath with William Friedkin circling the director's chair, albeit never landing. Neither man is still attached; now Eraser’s Chuck Russell is calling the shots with John Travolta in talks to tackle the lead. Wrath, which was cooked up in the brains of Yvan Gauthier and Paul Sloan (with Sloan going on to write the script), finds a man distraught after the murder of his wife. But when the police are unable to collar those responsible, he discovers that they’re mired in corruption and decides to take matters into his own hands. Cue our hero going vigilante as he wades into the officers’ behaviour and swears to take down the perpetrators,
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After literally becoming Nicolas Cage in Face/Off, now John Travolta will be replacing the actor in the action thriller I Am Wrath. The film was previously in the hands of William Friedkin with Cage in the starring role, but The Wrap reports Eraser and The Mask helmer Chuck Russell behind the camera working from a script by Paul Sloan based on a story by Yvan Gauthier. That sounds like a considerable downgrade, but Travolta hasn't been doing much when it comes to quality films lately, so that's not surprising. In the film, he plays a man out for justice after corrupt cops are unable to catch his wife’s killer.
It sounds like Travolta is trying to have his very own Taken, but considering we've gotten too much of that kind of thriller since the first Liam Neeson-starring vehicle hit theaters, I'm not filled with any anticipation. Production
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The story centers on a man (John Travolta) who becomes frustrated with the local police when they fail to find his wife's killer. He uncovers massive corruption within the department, and becomes a vigilante who swears to take down these crooked cops. Paul Sloan wrote the screenplay based on an original story by Yvan Gauthier.

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